PRESS RELEASE | LONDON
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | 7 FEBRUARY 2017
PAUL GAUGUIN, HENRI MATISSE, PABLO PICASSO,
PIERRE-AUGUSTE RENOIR AND AUGUSTE RODIN
CHRISTIE’S IMPRESSIONIST & MODERN ART EVENING SALE
28 FEBRUARY 2017
THE PERSONAL COLLECTION OF BARBARA LAMBRECHT
LE CORBUSIER: IMPORTANT WORKS FROM THE HEIDI WEBER
MUSEUM COLLECTION
Paul Gauguin, Te Fare (La maison) (1892, estimate: £12,000,000-18,000,000) and
Henri Matisse, Jeune fille aux anémones sur fond violet (1944, estimate: £5,000,000-7,000,000)
London – The Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale on 28 February will launch 20th-Century at Christie’s,
a season of sales that take place in London from 28 February to 10 March 2017. The auction will present 51
lots from the birth of Impressionism through to some of the most important and ground-breaking movements of
the 20th century, and will feature two esteemed European collections, The Personal Collection of Barbara
Lambrecht and Le Corbusier: Important Works from the Heidi Weber Museum Collection, forming a focal point
for the sale. A major highlight is Paul Gauguin’s Te Fare (La maison) (1892, estimate: £12,000,00018,000,000), one of the most richly coloured of his Tahitian landscapes, painted on his first visit to the island.
Further exceptional works include Henri Matisse’s Jeune fille aux anémones sur fond violet (1944, estimate:
£5,000,000-7,000,000), part of a series of interior scenes that the artist created whilst living in Vence in the
South of France, a monumental portrait of two figures by Pablo Picasso titled Joueur de flûte et femme nue
(1970, estimate: £6,500,000-8,500,000), Canotage á Bougival (circa 1881, estimate: £3,700,000-4,700,000), a
landscape by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, formerly in the collection of Albert C. Barnes, painted at a transitional
moment in his career and Auguste Rodin’s timeless expression of passionate love Le baiser (conceived circa
1882, estimate: £4,000,000-6,000,000). The Impressionist & Modern Works on Paper sale takes place on 1
March and is followed by the Impressionist & Modern Art Day Sale, also on 1 March at King Street with
Impressionist & Modern Art taking place at Christie’s South Kensington on 3 March. The online-only sale
Picasso Ceramics will run alongside the live auctions from 24 February to 7 March 2017. Prices range from
£500-18,000,000 across the season, providing opportunities for collectors at every level. Highlights will be on
view in Shanghai on 8 February and Beijing from 11 to 13 February with all works to be exhibited in London
from 23 to 28 February 2017.
IMPRESSIONIST & MODERN ART EVENING SALE HIGHLIGHTS
GAUGUIN
An homage to the spectacular Tahitian landscape, Te Fare (La maison) (illustrated, page one) was created in
1892, the year that Paul Gauguin painted some of his greatest masterpieces. A large hibiscus tree dominates
the composition, its rich emerald green leaves and just visible orange blossoms obscuring the purple-roofed
house situated behind it. This wooden hut could, it has been suggested, be the artist’s own rented home in
Mataiea. A quiet, enigmatic narrative seems to veil the scene, imbuing the composition with a deeper,
psychological dimension, a reflection of Gauguin’s Symbolist involvement. In Te Fare (La maison) Gauguin
has increasingly simplified and monumentalised the landscape, transcending reality by turning the natural
world into a mystic vision of colour, line and form.
PICASSO
Joueur de flûte et femme nue (illustrated, right) depicts a voluptuous female
nude, being softly serenaded by a bearded, flute-player seated next to her. The
couple’s interlocking limbs, and the sensual, spontaneous style of the painting all
serve to infuse the composition with a heady sense of eroticism, a feature that
characterises much of Picasso’s late work. The unmistakable, hieratic profile of
the seated nude in Joueur de flûte et femme nue is that of Jacqueline Roque,
Picasso’s great love, wife and final muse, who first appeared in his work in 1954.
RENOIR
Pierre-August Renoir, Canotage á Bougival
(1881, estimate: £3,700,000-4,700,000)
Pablo Piacsso, Joueur de flûte et
Renoir is likely to have painted Canotage á
femme nue (1970, estimate:
Bougival (illustrated, left) in the spring of
£6,500,000-8,500,000)
1881, soon after returning from a two-month trip to Algeria, his first ever
voyage outside of France. During his travels, the artist had devoted
himself fully to landscape painting, revelling in the dense and luxuriant
foliage of palm and banana trees. Seeking to maintain the creative energy
that the Algerian vistas had inspired in him, he continued to paint
landscapes that bear witness to one of the central tenets of
Impressionism: the plein-air master standing outdoors. Canotage á
Bougival was acquired in 1920 by one of the most important collectors of
the 20th Century: Dr Albert C. Barnes. Barnes's collection of modern art
remains among the greatest of its kind, and features many works by
Renoir, whom Barnes admired above all other painters.
MATISSE
Depicting a young artist, Annelies Nelck, Jeune fille aux anémones sur fond violet (illustrated, page one) is the
first of three portraits by Matisse that features this model. Of these three works, the present oil is the only one
to remain in private hands; the other two reside in the Musée Matisse, Nice, and the Honolulu Museum of Art,
Hawaii. Wearing a red and orange Romanian blouse – one of Matisse’s adored collection
of lavish dresses and ornate costumes that he often depicted his sitters in – Nelck is
surrounded by blossoming flowers against a soft, mauve background, bringing Matisse's
lifelong preoccupations with colour and line to a triumphant conclusion.
RODIN
First conceived circa 1882, Le baiser (illustrated, right) is one of the most iconic sculptures
of Rodin’s entire oeuvre, renowned for its poetic depiction of two young lovers caught in a
passionate embrace. Rodin’s work dramatically portrays the intense desire that has swept
through these two figures, causing their bodies to intertwine in an almost spiral
Auguste Rodin, Le baiser
formation, as they succumb to their lustful impulses. Slightly larger than life size, the (circa 1882, estimate: £4,000,0006,000,000)
original marble version was exhibited at the Paris Salon of 1898.
THE PERSONAL COLLECTION OF BARBARA LAMBRECHT SOLD TO BENEFIT THE RUBENS PRIZE
COLLECTION IN THE MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART SIEGEN
With the sale of her personal collection, Barbara Lambrecht continues her
profound and longstanding philanthropic engagement. Her personal collection
was carefully assembled over four decades and two distinct conceptual strands
can be identified: classic early Impressionism and the daring colour of the Fauves.
Two important oils by Berthe Morisot will be presented alongside Claude Monet’s
Les Bords de la Seine au Petit-Gennevilliers (1874, estimate: £2,000,0003,000,000), Deux anges by Kees van Dongen (1907-09, estimate: £400,000600,000) (illustrated, left) and Pablo Picasso’s Portrait de Lluis Alemany (18991900, estimate: £300,000-500,000). Please see the link for full press release.
Kees van Dongen, Deaux anges
(1907-09, estimate: £400,000-600,000)
LE CORBUSIER: IMPORTANT WORKS FROM THE HEIDI WEBER
MUSEUM COLLECTION
Three oil paintings from the Heidi Weber Museum Collection, including
Nature morte et figure (completed in 1944, estimate: £1,500,0002,500,000) (illustrated, right), trace Le Corbusier’s career from the 1920s
to the 1940s and will be offered alongside four works on paper. From the
elegant, rigidly structured Purist compositions of the late 1910s and early
1920s, to the exuberant multi-hued compositions of his later years, the
astonishing diversity that characterises Le Corbusier’s oeuvre can be
seen in the selection of works that feature in the Impressionist &
Modern Art Evening and Works on Paper Sales. Please see the link
for full press release.
Le Corbusier, Nature morte et figure
(completed in 1944, estimate: £1,500,0002,500,000))
PRESS CONTACT: Sara Macdonald | +44 (0)20 7752 3136 | [email protected]
About Christie’s
Christie’s, the world's leading art business, had global auction, private and digital sales in the first half of 2016 that totalled £2.1 billion /
$3 billion. Christie’s is a name and place that speaks of extraordinary art, unparalleled service and expertise, as well as international
glamour. Christie’s offers around 350 auctions annually in over 80 categories, including all areas of fine and decorative arts, jewellery,
photographs, collectibles, wine, and more. Prices range from $200 to over $100 million. Christie's also has a long and successful
history conducting private sales for its clients in all categories, with emphasis on Post-War & Contemporary, Impressionist & Modern,
Old Masters and Jewellery. 2016 marks Christie’s 250th anniversary. Founded in 1766 by James Christie, Christie's has since
conducted the greatest and most celebrated auctions through the centuries providing a popular showcase for the unique and the
beautiful. Click HERE to view a short film about Christie’s and the 250 th anniversary. Christie’s has a global presence in 46 countries,
with 12 salerooms around the world including in London, New York, Paris, Geneva, Milan, Amsterdam, Dubai, Zürich, Hong Kong,
Shanghai, and Mumbai. Christie’s has led the market with expanded initiatives in growth markets such as Russia, China, India and the
United Arab Emirates, with successful sales and exhibitions in Beijing, Mumbai and Dubai.
*Estimates do not include buyer’s premium. Sales totals are hammer price plus buyer’s premium and do not reflect costs, financing fees or application of
buyer’s or seller’s credits.
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Images available on request
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